CC wins 14 awards for writing, art and design

In May, Christian communicators from across Canada gathered at Crieff Hills Retreat Centre outside Guelph, Ontario to celebrate the best in faith-based journalism from the past year. Christian Courier took home 14 awards, a new record for us! Many of the other publications competing for these prizes enjoy funding from larger denominations or para-church organizations. As a fully independent publication, we are only able to compete with these bigger organizations thanks to the long-standing loyalty of our readers and donors.

Gold and silver

The biggest wins of the evening showcased our art and creativity. Designer Kevin Tamming won best front page for his work on our Christmas issue, which combined vivid collage art by Nina Schuurman-Drenth and top-of-the world photography of artist Floyd Elzinga in action. Artist Bruce Herman’s introspective masterpiece (April 2022) was recognized for best original art. Nunavut photographer Esau Tatatoapik and Art Director Maaike VanderMeer earned second place for Tatatoapik’s arctic circle photography featuring polar bears, icebergs and tundra flora.

“When l was young, l got interested in taking images of different things and especially landscapes, different kinds of wildlife, Aurora Borealis,” reflected Tatatoapik upon receiving the award. “These are the creations of our God the Father, and being in the centre of all these things gives me inner peace. l try to capture [that] and share it with other people via photo.”

Indigenous storytelling

In 2022, our editorial team committed to featuring more indigenous voices in our pages, and several of these stories were recognized. Anishinaabe community activist and residential school survivor Viv Ketchum won second place for her first-person account of losing a son far too young. Assistant Editor Meghan Kort’s conversation with Lisa Raven, director of Returning to Spirit, also earned second place in the Interview category.

“Oftentimes, we think of reconciliation as linear and it’s not,” says Lisa. “Western culture says, ‘if we check off these boxes then we’ll get there.’ I think that is why it feels sometimes like we’re not making any progress, because reconciliation is actually experiential. It’s spiritual and it’s fluid.”

Our co-op student Erica Rozema was the runner up for the Student Award with her article “Healing Quilts.” When Rozema interviewed Lucy Thomas, a residential school survivor who received a quilt from Quilts for Survivors, she handled the story with wisdom and empathy far beyond her journalism years; Rozema had received a community-made quilt after her mom passed away from cancer.

“I am honoured to be part of the article,” Thomas said upon hearing of the award, “and hope that many will start learning Indigenous history.”

Excellence in writing

Other Christian Courier writers received recognition in a wide range of genres.

Second place, best headline: Jenna Boone with “Hey Church, Go Take a Hike!”

First place, poetry: Stephen T. Berg’s “Things too high for me”

First place, editorial: Meghan Kort for “Urban Exodus”

Third place, news story: Meghan Kort for “Fears, Lies and Freedom: Talking to Christians about the truckers’ convoy to Ottawa.”

Third place, service journalism: Angela Reitsma Bick for “Dutch Hearts, Greater Risk.”

Honourable Mention, A.C. Forrest Memorial Award for socially conscious religious journalism: Angela Reitsma Bick for “In the #churchtoo trenches: An interview with Rachael Denhollander on fighting abuse in the church.”

Thanks to our Theos!

The entire CC team gets credit for pulling off a first-place finish in the Best Marketing or Fundraising Campaign competition. Last fall, we asked our readers to “Be Our Theo,” just like Theo van Gogh whose generosity made his brother Vincent’s art possible. Maaike VanderMeer’s van Gogh-inspired artwork, Kevin Tamming’s design expertise, Heather Snippe’s admin and Sarah Smith’s donor relations won over the judge’s hearts (and our reader’s wallets!). The campaign raised $16,000 over our goal of $35,000.

If you’d like to revisit any of these stories, you can find them all on CC’s website, which by the way is also a winner. Christiancourier.ca won second place in the best website competition, moving up from our third-place finish last year.

Quilts for Survivors going strong, 2 years later

When CC first interviewed Vanessa Genier in late 2021, Quilts for Survivors had sent out 920 quilts and had 450 residential school survivors on its waiting list. Its founder Genier was a volunteer who managed the fledging organization in her spare time.

Since then, Quilts for Survivors has grown so much that Genier quit her regular job to run it – one of two full-time staff now in its employ. And the numbers keep growing: to date, volunteers from across Canada and around the globe have donated their time and supplies to create over 3,000 unique, beautiful quilts.

I called Genier to tell her about the award; when we spoke, she was in Halifax for Quilt Canada 2023, a conference for Canadian quilters. When I asked what’s next for Quilts for Survivors, she said she’s excited to have the loan of a long-arm quilter for the summer and plans to host a sewing retreat this fall. And there are still 1,300 survivors on their waiting list – and an estimated 40,000 living survivors in total in Canada. Her goal? To mail a quilt to every one of them.

Remembering Ruth Hoekema

By Angela Reitsma Bick

It was heartbreaking to hear that Ruth Hoekema, one of the people I interviewed for “Dutch hearts, greater risk” (CC, August 2022) passed away on March 30, 2023. Hoekema, a member of Hope Christian Reformed Church in Hull, Iowa, was a carrier of PLN (Phospholamban), a gene mutation that leads to heart problems and affects people of Dutch descent at a higher rate than others. 

Hoekema died at age 69 from cardiomyopathy, having “accepted with sweet trust,” as her obituary said, the medical diagnosis that would shorten her life expectancy.

“Ruth was a remarkable wife, mother, grandmother, caregiver and friend,” Dordt University public health student Lucy Borkowski told CC. “Every interaction I had with her was peppered with words of encouragement.” Borkowski spent last summer researching PLN and raising awareness about the condition among Dutch communities. In June, when we spoke, she had just returned from a trip to Athens, Greece to attend an international conference for the PLN Heart Foundation.

“At the end of the day,” she said, “I am so passionate about it because I get to connect with wonderful patients like Ruth.”  

“I appreciate your assistance in spreading awareness,” Dr. Dean Jansen, North American PLN secretary, told CC after hearing of the award (see page 6 for details). “Perhaps you could emphasize how important it is for people to be tested and to contact the PLN Foundation. We are in the process of developing a database of PLN carriers as new treatments are becoming available. In fact, two trials are currently in stage two of human trials. We are optimistic that an effective treatment may soon be available, and it is vitally important for us to find the carriers.”